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Nolasco Injured; May Miss Rest of Season

August 22, 2010 By jonnylons 1 Comment

In a freak accident in Pittsburgh, apparently tore his medial meniscus in his right knee. The results of the testing are still being examined, but signs point to shutting down Nolasco for the remainder of the season.

The Marlins are not in contention, so they are not in need of having Nolasco out there and wouldn’t want him to risk further injury with little upside. That said, the Marlins are also pressing to get more information out of their prospect, . He hasn’t fared well statistically in the minors, but was pushed into the starting spot for Nolasco this afternoon, pitching 5 innings, struck out 3, walked 3, and gave up only 1 earned run. His mustache and soul lip combo looked pretty funny though, too.

Most likely, expect Nolasco to be shut down as a precaution and the Marlins give a long look to .

Filed Under: Featured, Injuries, Regular Season, Roster Tagged With: ,

Cody Ross Waived; Cameron Maybin Era Begins

August 22, 2010 By jonnylons 2 Comments

In a move that is probably about a month late, is leaving the Marlins. It was inevitable if the Fish couldn’t make an upward climb in the standings and it appears that they are firmly entrenched where they are now. So, you could say it was a classy move to get a chance at the playoffs by putting him on waivers – and the Giants immediately picked him up.

Of course, this means that Ross’ days with the Marlins are done. Sure, he may come back around in a reprisal role, but the Marlins are now hoping to bear fruit on that deal they made with the Tigers a few seasons ago when they traded Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers for and today’s starter, .

Dontrelle Willis has never been the same. He is in San Francisco working on making a comeback – but could be joining Ross there if he can get straightened out in the minors. Miguel Cabrera just reached over the 30 home run plateau this season where he has been doing it in Detroit for years now. So, it’s quite a hill to climb for the Marlins just to get even here.

threw 5 solid innings today, donning a mustache and soul patch like the gun slingers of old. He had an ERA of over 6.00 and a WHIP approaching 2 in Jacksonville but the brass saw enough improvement in him to give him a shot. As it turned out, ’s freak injury got Miller back on the mound as a starter. Depending on how quickly Nolasco can come back, Miller should have the job for the rest of the season.

Then there is the other piece of that trade – Cameron Maybin. The kid has great athleticism and can definitely cover center field the way did. The question is, can he hit? He had an amazing debut (16-32 in 2008) with the Marlins coming up, but has struggled ever since. In the minors, Maybin has shown more selectivity and solid power.

So will depart and move on to the Giants and a chance to compete in the post season. He was a great character guy to have in the clubhouse and always played with a gritty style that the fans loved. We’ll miss his sheepish, cat-ate-the-mouse grin, too. But the future is here and the Marlins are not playing for a slot in the post season. Now is the time of year for evaluation and there are some prospects that need to be gauged. Maybin and Miller are two that have to produce.

Filed Under: Featured, Regular Season, Roster, The Latest Tagged With: , ,

Ronny Paulino Makes a Bonehead: Suspended for 50 Games

August 20, 2010 By jonnylons Leave a Comment

That’s right, you know him, you love him – . He went and made a bonehead of himself and embarrassed the Fish a bit. He failed a drug test and will now serve a 50 game which means he is out the rest of this season (42 games including tonight’s) and 8 games of next season.

Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel speculates that this is his last time in a Marlins uni:

“Methinks Paulino has played his last game as a Marlin, at least if team Prez David Samson has anything to say about it.”

I agree. No sense in keeping him around now. Brett Hayes will have to hold things down until Johnny Baker gets back, which may not be until September. So, who’s the happiest man in the dugout right now? Gotta be Hayes or even Brad Davis, who will also get plenty of looks until Bake returns.

Stay tuned to see how this affects the Marlins’ pitching staff. May not do too much. Samson was pretty peeved about it, so very likely that Paulino is going to stay in Pittsburgh – where he played earlier in his career. At least for the short term.

Filed Under: Featured, Injuries, Regular Season, Roster, The Latest Tagged With: , ,

Houston…We Have a Problemo…Marlins Beat Astros 9-0

August 20, 2010 By jonnylons Leave a Comment

And just like that, the Fish are hitting the ball again. At 61-60, they are also back over .500. It has been a see-saw season (say that three times fast) for sure, but there are things to watch for of course. Sure, the Marlins aren’t going to make the playoffs but look at it this way, the Braves will and will quickly exit in the first round like they always do (they are always a fragile team just a hiccup away from the cellar).

Tonight was a reason why you tune in – back to back jacks from and . Yeah, . What, you don’t think the guy can hit the ball? He had 16 homers this season at AAA when he was called up and was batting .294. What, don’t believe me? Man, you’ve got trust issues, buddy!

Anywho, after what was looking like a disastrous road trip, the Marlins rebounded against the Pirates – where usually PNC Park is a house of horrors for Los Marlins – and continued to hit the ball pretty well here in South Florida. 9 runs on 12 hits ain’t nuthin’ to scoff at and the Fish certainly didn’t. By the way, got his 10th win of the season and is sporting a pretty nice 3.16 ERA. So, that is three starters with 10 or more wins. Anibal quietly struck out 5 in 7 innings and also threw only 88 pitches. Very efficient. This is the kind of thing you also want to tune in and see. Even was tuning in – he has to serve a 50 game suspension for violating MLB’s drug policy.

Marlins have their work cut out for them, though, if they want to hit 80 wins. Only 41 games left and they have to win 19 of those to hit 80 wins, but they really need to up it a bit to reach into the mid 80′s to have a mildly successful season. After all, you can’t fire Fredi and then finish with less wins than he lead the team to the past few seasons.

Filed Under: Regular Season, The Latest Tagged With: , , , ,

No Laughing Matter: Marlins Looking Listless

August 17, 2010 By jonnylons Leave a Comment

So how do you respond after winning 4 games in a row? You lose 4 in a row.

This team is just not ready to make a play for anything this season. The staff has been overturned, the roster churned, and now, the team seems to be flat. It isn’t like they don’t have exciting young players – , , all play the game the right way. They have talent, they can hit. They aren’t alone – the Marlins have one of the most productive middle infields in all of baseball in and . Sure, Ramirez is struggling and his recent “promotion” in the lineup to lead off isn’t seeming to help, but he can still hit.

But, that is the problem – Hanley has been too inconsistent since the all star break. He has had a very quiet bat for the most part and the push to the top spot was done because Coghlan got injured, but also because it was hoped it would wake Hanley’s bat up. Hasn’t done it.

The pitching is meh, too. Volstad looks average at best on most nights. You’d think this kid was a rookie – he was last season and pitched very well at times showing his ability on the mound to have a cerebral game with top flight raw talents. He hasn’t been able to put it together and keep it together this season. and have been pretty consistent through the season although Double J has seemed to hit a struggle point of late. always pitches with heart, but his offense can abandon him (like for Johnson) but even he can be off on nights. Sean West has just gotten back and it is too early to tell what he’ll do.

The bullpen has talent. Hensley has been the most consistent performer at the back of games of late but has yet to be given the ball in the 9th. Leo Nunez, with a plus fastball that he is afraid to use, has the stuff but is psyching himself out. Not what you want in a closer. The rest of the staff has been marginally good – Tankersley is a seasonal project that just seems to fail every season. Another reason why Ohman was acquired which should send a mixed signal to all Fish fans (why trade Cantu then go out and trade Vandenhurk for a specialty reliever?),

Right now, the Fish are a bore to watch. Offense sucks, defense sucks (well, at least that has been consistent), and the pitching is hit or miss. There really is nothing to play for other than to finish ahead of the Mutts – which means everything in my book. Can the players feel the pinch and loss of a playoff hope? It seems that they are just getting ram-rodded by teams they meet. They never have had success in Pittsburgh, so don’t assume they will turn out of this one either.

What started off as a promising road trip has ended up being a bore – with the exception of the show. The future is very bright for the Marlins, but the question is, will it ever turn into a bright present? Maybe not just yet.

Filed Under: Featured, Regular Season, Spotlight Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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